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Buy any 12 bottles and save 10% (excludes wines on offer). Free UK delivery on orders over £100. Tel: 02922 337454
Buy any 12 bottles and save 10% (excludes wines on offer). Free UK delivery on orders over £100. Tel: 02922 337454

2025 Secateurs Red Blend, AA Badenhorst Family Wines

Swartland, South Africa

Swartland in a leather jacket.

This is one of those reds that feels effortlessly cool, juicy enough to drink with abandon, but with just enough edge to keep things interesting. Built around 80% Shiraz, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cinsault, the 2025 opens with perfumed notes of ripe red fruit, cracked black pepper and warm spice, with a faint stony, earthy twist that gives it that unmistakable Swartland swagger. The palate is supple and smooth on entry, but there is real shape underneath, with Cabernet bringing a little grip and lift, and the finish staying dry, fresh and mouthwatering rather than soft or sweet. It is generous, yes, but never heavy, more like a rugged, sun-drenched red with plenty of personality and a lovely sense of movement through the glass.

For when: there is smoke in the air, friends around the table, and something deliciously charred on its way.
Pairs with: lamb koftas, barbecued pork, grilled aubergine, smoky sausages, or a sticky, caramelised onion tart.
If this wine were a person: relaxed, magnetic, a little windswept, and somehow cooler than everyone else without trying.

The fruit comes from Jakkalsfontein and Kalmoesfontein in the Paardeberg, where dry-farmed bush vines grow on granite and koffieklip soils, giving the wine both concentration and that lovely mineral backbone. The 2025 Swartland vintage benefited from good winter rainfall, healthy fruit and a short, balanced harvest, helping deliver a wine with both freshness and depth. After fermentation, the components were blended and aged in a mix of large foudres, 500-litre French oak, concrete and stainless steel, which helps explain the wine’s easy texture and layered feel.

Whats in the bottle
80% Shiraz, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cinsault

Original price £15.50 - Original price £15.50
Original price
£15.50
£15.50 - £15.50
Current price £15.50
Availability:
In stock

A.A. Badenhorst Family Wines is one of the names most closely associated with the modern rise of the Swartland, yet its roots feel deeply tied to an older, more instinctive South African wine culture. Based at Kalmoesfontein on the Paardeberg, the estate was founded by Adi Badenhorst and has become known for wines that are full of life, texture and an unmistakable sense of place. The farm is home to old bush vines, many planted in the 1950s and 1960s, spread across varied slopes and rooted in decomposed granite, quartz and iron-rich koffieklip soils, all of which contribute to the fragrance, savoury detail and natural tension that run through the range.

What makes Badenhorst so compelling is the way these wines balance freedom with precision. Farming is hands-on and largely biological in outlook, with unirrigated bush vines and a strong emphasis on preserving the individuality of each parcel. In the cellar, the approach is deliberately unforced, favouring traditional methods and gentle handling over polish for polish’s sake. That philosophy gives the wines their hallmark character, expressive, textural and often slightly wild around the edges, but always anchored by purity and purpose.

From the brilliantly drinkable Secateurs range to the more layered and age-worthy bottlings from Kalmoesfontein itself, A.A. Badenhorst has helped redefine what Swartland can be: not just fashionable, but profound. These are wines that celebrate old vineyards, Mediterranean varieties and the raw beauty of the Cape, all seen through the lens of a grower who trusts both the land and his own instincts.

The Syrah component is drawn from seven distinct vineyard parcels, each vinified using varied techniques including whole bunch fermentation, submerged cap, and extended maceration. After fermentation, all components are blended and aged for seven months in a combination of large foudres, 500-litre French oak barriques, concrete tanks, and stainless steel vessels. This multivessel approach adds layers of texture and complexity before bottling.